By Lori Jean Mantooth
What are the goals of your organization? Are you able to meet these goals with your current staff capacity? Would you like to expand your current efforts and take on new projects? Volunteer leaders can help you do that!
A volunteer leader is a volunteer who leads others in service. Volunteer leaders may plan and/or lead projects; lead others in ongoing service; organize, lead, and inspire other volunteers; or represent an organization to volunteers and the community.
The community is full of potential leaders, and by tapping into their skills, ideas, and passion, your organization can greatly expand the work it does in the community. Volunteer leadership creates a community of committed leaders who care about and understand your work. You can also increase volunteer retention by offering current volunteers greater responsibility and different opportunities.
Volunteer leaders are a key part of the HandsOn Network model of service and civic engagement. From serving as project managers on large days of service to organizing KidsCare Clubs, HandsOn volunteer leaders serve in a variety of ways.
HandsOn Action Centers use many different methods of nurturing volunteer leaders. Here are a few tips:
• Engaging them in meaningful positions.
• Get to know the volunteer leaders, why they are serving, the skills they have and the ones they want or need to develop.
• Keep them motivated and engaged through regular training, meetings, or email or other social networking tools.
• Coach and mentor the leaders and support them as they plan projects and lead others.
• Pair volunteer leaders to learn from and support each other.
• Provide training opportunities for personal and professional development.
• Host informal social gatherings at local cafes.
• Recognize their service. Consider national volunteer recognition such as the President’s Volunteer Service Award, the Daily Point of Light, or L’Oreal Women of Worth
Through a cooperative agreement with the Corporation for National and Community Service, HandsOn Network provides free online courses on leveraging volunteers. Visit http://www.nationalserviceresources.org/online-courses for these and other courses:
• Utilizing Volunteers as Project Leaders
• Engaging College Students as Volunteer Leaders
• Volunteer Management
• Project Planning
• On-site Project Management
Lori Jean Mantooth is Director of Training & Consulting Projects at HandsOn Network and a guest blogger.
Generated by Points of Light Institute, HandsOn Network equips, mobilizes and inspires people to take action that changes the world. Our Network, now the largest in the nation, is leading people from impulse to action, turning their ideas for change into real projects like building wheel chair ramps, watershed protection projects and tutoring programs – action that addresses critical issues facing our communities, our nation and our world. The Network includes over 250 affiliates—that serve in all 50 states and in nine countries. In 2007 alone, these HandsOn Action Centers helped to deliver more than 33 million hours of volunteer service valued at 1.2 billion dollars.
